Tinubu’s Net Worth Unknown; CSO Raises Concerns After Six Months in Office
More than six months after assumption of office, taking oath of office and swearing allegiance to State and the rule of law, President Tinubu has no known record of assets in the public or in the coffers of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).
Following the failure of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act to sift Mr Tinubu’s asset declaration from the CCB, if any exist, officials of the Bureau have told The Guardian that “expecting such a record from us is like Waiting For Godot.
Stakeholders, among whom are Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), remarked that though the extant law on Asset Declaration is silent on public disclosure, it is a moral burden on well-meaning public office holders to be seen as transparent, and President Tinubu, most especially, should not be an exception.
It will be recalled that the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, contained in Part I of the Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution [as amended] provides that every public officer shall immediately after taking office, and thereafter (a) at the end of every four years; and (b) at the end of his/her term of office, submit to the CCB a written declaration of all his properties, assets, and liabilities and those of his unmarried children under the age of 18 years.
The inherent secrecy of the provision has, however, become an alibi for most public office holders to either deride the entire provision or allegedly compromise relevant officials for cover ups.
President Bola Tinubu has reneged on one of the legal and moral demands on public office holders to declare their assets upon the assumption of office, for transparency purposes.
Interestingly, only Tinubu and two other public officers have been tried for false declarations of assets at the CCT. The administration of President Buhari brought former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and a Chief Justice of the Federation, Walter Onoghen, before the CCT, for false declaration of assets.
Stakeholders, however, said the stakes are higher now, given the widespread cases of corruption and the need for a president that should lead by example.
